Xakriabá (also called Chakriaba, Chikriaba, Shacriaba or Shicriabá) is an extinct or dormant Akuwẽ (Central Jê) language ( Jê, Macro-Jê) formerly spoken in

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

by the Xakriabá people, who today speak Portuguese. The language is known through two short wordlists collected by

Augustin Saint-Hilaire Augustin François César Prouvençal de Saint-Hilaire (4 October 17793 September 1853) was a French botanist and traveller who was born and died in Orléans, France. A keen observer, he is credited with important discoveries in botany, notably th ...

and

Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege Baron Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege (1777–1855) was a geologist, geographer and above all a mineralogist and engineer of German mines. He played an important role in all areas of activity in both Portugal and Brazil, where he joined the Portuguese ...

. The last confirmed native speaker of the language died in 1864.

Phonology

Vowels

* /i/ can also be heard as �in shortened positions.

Consonants

* Sounds is heard from /i/ before other vowels or within diphthongs. * Sounds � ʒare heard as allophones of /s z/. * Sounds ʃ dʒ ɲare heard as allophones of /t d n/ when palatalized before /i/. * �can be heard as an allophone of /k/.

History

Before 1712, Xakriabá was originally spoken along the

São Francisco River The São Francisco River (, ) is a large Rivers of Brazil, river in Brazil. With a length of , it is the longest river that runs entirely in Brazilian territory, and the fourth longest in South America and overall in Brazil (after the Amazon R ...

near

São Romão São Romão is a Brazilian municipality located in the north of the state of Minas Gerais. In 2020 the population was 12,529 in a total area of 2,432 km². It became a municipality in 1943. History Guaiba, an extinct Jê language, was ...

( Saint-Hilaire 2000: 340-341). The Xakriabá were then forced to migrate after being defeated by and other

Paulistas Paulistas are the inhabitants of the state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Brazil, and of its antecessor the Capitaincy of São Vicente, whose capital early shifted from the village of São Vicente, Brazil, São Vicente to the one of São Pa ...

from 1690 onwards. In 1819, Saint-Hilaire (1975: 145)Saint-Hilaire, Auguste de. 1975. ''Viagem à província de Goiás''. Belo Horizonte: Editora Itatiaia. noted that the Xakriabá of

Triângulo Mineiro The Triângulo Mineiro (, '' Mineiro Triangle'') is the region that comprises the west part of the state of Minas Gerais, in Brazil. It occupies an area of 93,500 km2 (slightly larger than Portugal or Hungary) and is bordered to the east b ...

region spoke a

Xerente Xerente (alternate Sherenté, Xerentes, and Xerénte) are an indigenous people of Brazil living in Tocantins Tocantins () is one of the 26 states of Brazil. It is the newest state, formed in 1988 and encompassing what had formerly been the no ...

dialect.Ramirez, H., Vegini, V., & França, M. C. V. de. (2015)
Koropó, puri, kamakã e outras línguas do Leste Brasileiro
''LIAMES: Línguas Indígenas Americanas'', 15(2), 223 - 277.

References

Jê languages Extinct languages of South America Languages of Brazil Languages extinct in the 1860s {{Macro-Jê-lang-stub